Friends in Low Places

by MissDevon

AU( Plan B was taken)- The truth about how a former staffer was hurt is covered up because she's precieved as a 'nobody.' Now the rest of the staff must try to get to the bottom of it while she fights for her life. X-over GH.

37. chapter 36

Chapter 36

Carly sat watching Josh, as did Ned and Jax, in an awkward silence.  To her the man seemed to be a contradiction.  His clothes were expensive but rumpled.  He had insisted that McGarry leave and that he'd be fine, but he continually looked from Donna to the door, as if looking for someone.  Even more so, was the fact that while he joked with the older man, his eyes were filled with an emotion that belied his humor, yet she couldn't define it.  Was he the friend Donna had called, but whom couldn't make time for her, a voice wondered, even if a part of her doubted the validity of the thought.

And on top of that she was fairly certain that that friend hadn't been McGarry either.  He wasn't the type who'd put her off she could tell by the speed he had arrived here as well as by his annoyance in how they had handled things.

So where did they fit into this?

"Only one way to find out," she muttered under her breathe, causing Josh to turn slightly towards her.

"You say something?" he asked as he turned towards her.

"Nothing important," she shrugged as she straightened in her seat.

"Oh," Josh sighed as he looked over to Donna again.

"So, umm. . . you were Donna's boss huh?" Carly asked.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"No reason, although you don't particularly look like an economics professor."

"A. . ." Josh started, then laughed slightly.  "No. . . that. . . that would've been my boss's boss," he answered as he ran a hand through his hair.

"So you're not a professor?" Carly pried.

"No."

"Then what are you?" Jax asked.

"I. . . I uh. . . I have a degree from Harvard Law," Josh hedged.

"And you what?" Jax pressed.

"Do stuff involving law," Josh started but was stopped by Carly who spoke right over him: "So how did you come to hire Donna?"

"I didn't exactly hire her.  She kinda hired herself," Josh answered as he allowed himself to let his mind drift back to that first meeting. . .

 Donna is sitting on Josh's desk at the campaign office, consulting his calendar as she talks on the phone.

DONNA 

[into phone] Josh Lyman. Uh, no, he's not available right now. This afternoon? Uh, he's got a media session, and then a five o'clock with finance. 

Josh walks into his office, grabs a piece of paper, turns right around to leave and then does a double take.

DONNA [CONT.]

I can get your name and number and give Josh the message when he gets back. Thank you very much. 

She hangs up the phone.

JOSH

Hi.

DONNA

Hi.

JOSH

Who are you?

DONNA

I'm Donna Moss, who are you? 

JOSH

I'm Josh Lyman.

DONNA

Ah.

JOSH

Yes.

DONNA

I'm your new assistant.

JOSH

Did I have an old assistant? 

DONNA

Maybe not.

JOSH

Who are you?

DONNA

I'm Donna Moss, I came here to volunteer and the woman assigned me to you.

JOSH

Which woman?

DONNA

Becky.

JOSH

You mean Margaret?

DONNA

Yes.

JOSH

Who are you?

DONNA

I'm Donna Moss, I'll be working as your assistant.

JOSH

I'm going to talk to Margaret. 

DONNA 

[blocking his way] Actually, Josh --

JOSH

Yeah?

DONNA

When I said I was assigned to you?

JOSH

Yeah?

DONNA

I may have been overstating it a little.

JOSH

Who are you?

Josh and Donna walk and talk through the headquarters.

DONNA

I'm Donna Moss, I drove up here from Madison, Wisconsin?

JOSH

When did your boyfriend break up with you?

DONNA

What makes you think that my boyfriend broke up with me?

JOSH

Well, you're too old for your parents to have kicked you out of the house.

DONNA

I'm here because I want to work for Bartlet. I'm a college graduate, with a degree in Political Science and Government.

JOSH

Where did you graduate?

DONNA

Hmm?

JOSH

Where did you graduate?

DONNA

Okay, when I said I graduated, I may have been overstating a little?

JOSH

Look --

DONNA

I was a couple of credits short.

JOSH

From where?

DONNA

University of Wisconsin.

JOSH

You majored in Political Science and Government?

DONNA

And, uh, Sociology and Psychology.

JOSH

Uh-huh.

DONNA

And biology for a while, with a minor in French?

JOSH

Okay.

DONNA

And, uh, drama?

JOSH

You had five majors and two minors in four years?

DONNA

Two years.

JOSH

Okay, listen...

DONNA

I had to drop out. I had to drop out.

JOSH

Your boyfriend was older than you?

DONNA

I think that question is of a personal nature?

JOSH

Donna, you were just at my desk, reading my calendar, answering my phone, and hoping that I wouldn't notice that I never hired you. Your boyfriend was older?

DONNA

Yes.

JOSH

Law student?

DONNA

Medical student.

JOSH

And the idea was that you'd drop out and pay the bills till he was done with his residency.

DONNA

Yes.

They end up back in JOSH'S OFFICE.

JOSH

And why did Dr. Freeloader break up with you.

DONNA

What makes you think he broke up with me?

JOSH

Donna, this is a campaign for the Presidency, and there's nothing I take more seriously than that. This can't be a place where people come to find their confidence and start over. 

DONNA

Why not?

JOSH

I'm sorry?

DONNA

Why can't it be those things? 

JOSH

Because --

DONNA

What, is it going to interfere with my typing?

JOSH

Donna, we're picking up today and going to South Carolina. If you want to stay in the Manchester office - 

DONNA

I want to come to Charleston. 

JOSH

I can't carry you, Donna! I got a lot of guys out there not making the trip.

DONNA

I'll pay my own way.

JOSH

With what?

DONNA

I'll sleep on the floor, I'll sell my car. Eventually, you're going to put me on salary.

JOSH

Donna.

DONNA

Look. I think I might be good at this. I think you might find me valuable.

The phone rings. Josh and Donna stare at each other, his look measuring, her's beseeching, through a couple of rings. Finally --

JOSH

Go ahead.

Donna grabs the phone.

DONNA

[into phone] Bartlet for America, Josh Lyman's office. Uh, yes, I think I'm going to have someone from the press office get back to you if it's related to -- yes. Uh, yes. 

Josh takes his badge holder off his neck and hands it to Donna, who smiles.

DONNA

[into phone] Yes.  

"How exactly does that work?" Jax wondered when Josh didn't comment further.

"Huh?" Josh asked, shaking away the remnants of the memory.

"How'd she hire herself?"

"She started answering phones and scheduling appointments.  When I questioned her she said she'd thought she'd be valuable to my work.  Didn't take me long to realize she was right about that."

"So she worked for you from then until she went to work for Jax?" Ned wondered.

"Not quite," Jax shrugged as he moved to the wall and aligned his back to it, his eyes trained on Donna.  "She left for a couple of weeks to go back to her ex-boyfriend," he sighed as he let himself remember the words she had once spoken to him about that time. . .

 Donna kneels down on the floor facing Josh and helps him clean up.

JOSH

Right.

DONNA

Ah, Josh, Josh, Josh.

JOSH

Yes?

DONNA

Joshua, Josh, Josh.

JOSH

What the hell is happening now?

DONNA

You feel, I believe, because you're quite addle-minded, that this job was my second 

choice.

JOSH

Hey, I'm just grateful we were your last choice.

DONNA

I'm gonna give you a little gift right now, which you don't deserve.

JOSH

Donna, if you've got your old Catholic-school uniform on under there, don't get me wrong, I applaud the thought, but...

DONNA

Okay, what I need is for you to stop being like, you, for a second.

JOSH

Okay.

DONNA

When I came back, you remember I had a bandage on my ankle?

JOSH

Yeah.

DONNA

I told you I slipped on the ice on the front walk?

JOSH

Yeah. You know why? 'Cause you didn't put down the kitty litter.

DONNA

I was actually in a car accident.

JOSH

You were in a car accident?

DONNA

It was..

.

JOSH

Seriously, you were in an accident?

DONNA

It was no big deal.

JOSH

You told me it was a late thaw.

DONNA

[smiles] Yes. I did. Anyway, they took me to the hospital and I called him and he came 

to get me and on the way he stopped and met some friends of his for a beer.

JOSH

[incredulously] He stopped on the way to the hospital for a beer?

DONNA

Yes. And that's why I left him. Which was the point of my telling you this. I left him. 

So stop remembering that. What I remember is that you took me back when you had 

absolutely no reason to trust me again, and you didn't make fun of me or him, and 

you had every reason to.

JOSH

Donna...

DONNA

You're gonna make fun of him now, aren't you?

JOSH

No.

DONNA

'Cause that's why I didn't tell you in the first place.

JOSH

I'm not gonna make fun of him.

DONNA

Good.

JOSH

But just what kind of a dumbkes were you...

DONNA

He was supposed to meet some of his friends. He stopped on the way to tell them that 

he couldn't.

JOSH

And had a beer?

DONNA

Does this make you feel superior?

Josh looks away and starts to say something, but doesn't.

DONNA

Yes, you are better than my old boyfriend.

Josh stands up and walks toward the door, but stops in the doorway.

JOSH

I'm just sayin' if you were in an accident, I wouldn't stop for a beer.

DONNA

[stands up] If you were in an accident, I wouldn't stop for red lights. Thanks for 

taking me back. [walks out of his office] Oh, and the flowers are beautiful.  (2)  

"I take it things didn't work out between them," Carly commented, causing Josh to blink back to the present and look at her.

"No, she left the gomer for good," he answered as he looked over to Donna's prone form with a sad smile, causing Donna's voice to replay in Carly's mind:  "I haven't been out with a gomer in. . . well, ages."

"How long did Donna actually work for you then?" Ned asked.

"Almost five years."

"Then why didn't she continue to do so?"

Josh shifted uncomfortably at that as he looked down at the floor:  "I suppose she thought Jax's offer was better."

"Really how so?" Jax asked with a smug grin.

Josh inhaled and exhaled deeply not wanting to think about how he felt when she told him she was going to take the job, but unable to stop that train of thought. . .

"Josh, I need to talk to you about something. . ."  Donna had said from his doorway, more than a bit uncertain.  Although the tone and stance had characterized some of her early time with him, she had taken either in a long time.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked looking up from the file he was reading on a Welfare Reform initiative, concern etching his features.

"Well, there's not exactly something wrong.  Some might actually say it's a good thing," she had answered as she walked slowly into his office making sure to shut the door behind him.

"Donna. . ."

"I got an offer for a job from. . ."

"Jasper Jacks.  Yeah I know.  V. said she'd be recommending you," he interrupted distractedly once it seemed like the 'thing' was nothing.

"And you didn't think to inform me?" she huffed.

"It didn't seem like a big deal."

"Well it is to me Josh," she said angrily  as she crossed her arms defensively over her chest.

"That's not what I meant."

"Isn't it?"

"It's not like you're going to take it or anything," he shrugged as he looked back at the file.

"Oh, really? And why not?"

Josh looked up surprised at that, "What. . . What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that," she sighed unfolding her arms and dropping them to her side.

"Well, you already have one."

"Just till January."

"You know that's not true."

"Do I? Because I don't remember my current boss lining up a job for when his current one goes home, although I know he's turned down quite a few: Hoynes, Stackhouse, Wyatt, Skinner. . ."

"They're pity jobs, Donnatella!" Josh protested.

"Well, we all can't be as picky as you, Joshua."

"You know. . ."

"I don't want to," she sighed as she dropped into the visitor's chair and looked at her hands, tears filling her eyes.  "I can't, Josh, OK? This. . ." she fluttered her hands as she looked up at the ceiling.  "He's arranged for my acceptance at PCU," she continued as she looked past him and started to tick off the points that made the offer nearly impossible for her to refuse.  "He'll actually pay for me to finish my degree.  G-d, Josh, you know how much I want to finish. . . Not to mention it'd be semi-normal hours, and the pay. . ."

"What. . . what are you saying?" he had gulped.

She looked at him, eyes sad and tearful but full of determination as she straightened in her seat:  "I already took the job, Josh.  I couldn't say no."

"You took it without even talking to me first?" he asked incredously.

"Could you have given me a reason to say no?"

"I shouldn't have had to," he muttered as he looked dejectedly down at the file again, refusing to look at her as she rose and walked out of the door. . .

"What? No answer?" Jax prodded, causing Josh to come out of his wonderings.

"Sorry, I think I missed the question," Josh admitted as he glared at the other man.

"How was my offer better?"

"I supposed you offered her something I wasn't able to at the time," Josh shrugged.

"Now that just sounds wrong," a voice said from the doorway causing the occupants of the room to look towards it.

"Guess it's a good thing you don't have to spin it then," Josh countered as he pushed away from the wall, while the others stared the tall red head in jeans and a leather jacket who stood in the doorway before she was nudged by the slightly shorter man she had been blocking from view.

"Like we didn't have a plan for it anyway?" the man asked as he followed her into the room and towards Josh.

"I thought there was a rule against secret plans."

"Only where you were concerned, Mi Amore," CJ quipped.

"Besides, the only people it was secret from were you two.  Everyone else knew," Toby added as he helped CJ out of her jacket and turned towards the bed, looking fully at Donna for the first time, he inhaled sharply.  At his intake of breath, CJ turned too and gasped.  "We got a line order going yet?" Toby asked as he looked to Josh.

"All I know is it's forming after me," Josh answered, earning nods of agreement from his former colleagues.

Meanwhile, Jax, Carly, and Ned shared questioning looks.  "Should we take it you two are friends of Donna's?" Jax asked.

"Jacks?" Toby asked Josh, indicating the other man with a tilt of his head.

"How'd you guess?" Josh answered with a slight grin at the other man's expression.

"Leo described him well," he replied dryly, earning a glare from the man in question.

"OK, you two, back to your corners," CJ advised as she turned her attention to the others in the room.  "Since Sparky over here isn't up to doing the introductions, I'm CJ Cregg and that's Toby Ziegler.  And yes, we're friends with Donna.  We used to work with her."

"Really?" Jax asked skeptically

"You have a problem with that?" Toby asked.

Sensing an approaching situation, Ned slid in: "I think it's just the fact that neither of you look like you're particularly the type to be involved in the field of economics, never mind professors of the subject."

CJ bit her lip at that, as Toby reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill and dropped it into her out stretched hand.  "Do I even want to ask?" Josh asked.

"Excuse me, but didn't you essential just do that?" Toby shot back.

"Well maybe this time you'll learn your lesson about betting against the Sisterhood," CJ teased as she slipped the money into her pocket.

"You mean Amy didn't cure you of that one?" Josh asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Excuse us," Carly said waving her hand.  "Want to let us in on the joke?"

CJ just shrugged: "No real joke, just pertained to what we thought Donna said about her previous job."

"This I gotta hear," Josh muttered.

"Tobus thought she wouldn't comment.  I said she'd pulled the 'Charlie line,'" CJ explained.

"What's the 'Charlie line?'" Carly wondered.

"Staff joke," Josh replied easily.

"Oh."

"Wait a minute, I'm confused.  Why would Donna have to say anything other than the truth about whom she worked for before Jax?" Ned asked.

"She didn't." Toby shrugged.

"So you all worked for an economics professor?" Carly asked.

"You could say that."

"So you didn't?" Ned asked as Jax gave CJ a once over trying to place her.

"Let's just say 'Professor' wasn't the umm. . . main title he held at the time of our employ," Toby shrugged.

"And what was?" Carly wondered as Jax stared at CJ, and interrupted.  "You used to work for Isobel."

"Excuse me?" CJ asked, a touch surprised.

"You used to work for Isobel.  Brenda and Lois wanted to hire you, but you had already taken a job elsewhere."

"Funny how that works, isn't it," CJ shrugged as she threw back her hair.

"How do you go from working for one of Hollywood's type PR firms to working for an economics professor?" Jax couldn't help but ask.

"Fall into a pool," CJ deadpanned as Toby rolled his eyes, "I hate to do this, but I have a feeling Mrs. B's going to be a bit perturbed about the number of us currently in the room, so I'm going to head out and get some work done," he said stiffly.

"Just be back before I have to meet you know who for breakfast," CJ reminded.

"I don't need a babysitter," Josh muttered.

"Contrary to what your ego might believe, we're not only here for you," Toby told him gruffly.

"I know that."

"Good, because I prefer not to have to tell Donna that I killed you when she wakes up," he added as he walked over to the bed and took the woman in question hand in his own, and bent down to place a quick kiss to her forehead.  "We'll fix this," he started softly as he brushed a piece of her hair off of her cheek, "because that's what family does, even when we haven't been asked to.  And we will have a talk about that fact once you wake up.  In the meantime, you keep fighting the good fight," he finished before turning away, nodding to the other occupants and walking out. . .

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Skye moved across the room with unconscious momentum, pausing only as she recognized the back of one of the other patrons.  Smiling slightly, she continued to the bar and propped herself onto the empty stool next to him.  "Well, fancy meeting you here," she said, startling him out of his ponderance of the bottom of a glass of Scotch, "thought you'd be at the hospital or hard at work by now."

Sam shrugged as he returned most of his attention to the glass before taking a swig.  "Not needed at the hospital right now and work can wait, although I think I should've realized that sooner."

Skye frowned slightly at him as she took a sip of the non-alcoholic drink the waiter had placed in front of her. "How's your friend?"

"Still critical.  How's your brother?" Sam shot back as she turned his back slightly to her to signal the waiter for another drink, knowing that his expression of distaste would give him away.

"Not exaggerating," she sighed in reply as she idlely pulled the corner off a cocktail napkin.  "You know, if it's because of visiting hours that you're not at the hospital I could talk to my father and get some strings pulled."

"No!" Sam said quickly adamantly.  Too quickly and adamantly, he realized by a look at Skye's face.  "I'm sorry, it's just. . . some other friends are there now.  I'll probably take a morning shift or something," he told her while staring fixedly at the wall in front of them.

"If that's what you want," she shrugged.

"None of this is what I want," Sam sighed before downing his drink and signaling for another one.

"Think this is really going to help?" she wondered, indicating his glass.  "Take it from someone who's been there, it doesn't.  Why don't you bury yourself in that work you were going to do instead of letting me give you a tour?"

Because my drive to work contributed to this.  Her not seeking help from or telling the others.  They're all right.  I did let her down.  I should've come, not put her off.  Should've known it wasn't nothing if she was asking for my help, the voice in his head answered as he brought the glass up to his lips and took a hard swallow.  "How about I buy you dinner instead?" he asked as he put the glass back down on the bar, thinking that he might at least be able to ferret some information out of her during the course of the meal if he couldn't drown out the guilt.

"Sure.  Why not?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Edward walked quietly into the darkened room that had become Lila's world over the last few months and took the chair next to her bed.  Gently he took her hand in his and rubbed a finger over her knuckles, frowning at how translucent her skin was becoming.  "Edward. . ." she said softly as she turned her head towards him and smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry I haven't been up to see you sooner, but things have been hectic in the aftermath of last night's party," he said quietly as he kissed her hand.

"It always is dear," she said in a voice that he had to been close to hear.  "Did it go off well?'

"As well as an ELQ party ever does."

"That's nice dear," Lila replied a bit distractedly.  "You know, I was thinking that perhaps I could invite that charming assistant of Mr. Jack's to tea one day soon.  I know AJ is quite taken with her."

Edward cringed slightly at her words, "yes, I believe AJ is.  However I think Jax has her working on something that will be keeping her quite busy.  Maybe in another week or two."

"Yes.  That would be nice.  She's such a nice girl.  So nice to talk to. . ." Lila commented, her voice growing softer as she slipped back to sleep.

Fighting back tears, Edwards let go of his wife's hand and sat back in his chair.  "Yes. . . yes, she was. . ."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Luke looked up from the file he was reading to see Felicia draped in the doorway, her top half undone as she smiled at him before coming into the room and continuing to unbutton her top.  "I see that your friend is gone," she started with a pout as she sat on the edge of his desk.  "Why didn't you come up?"

Luke sighed at that, "got distracted," he shrugged as he closed the file and stuck it under a bunch of other papers.

Flicking her hair to the side Felicia frowned, "I thought I was your distraction for the night."

"Yeah, well, I guess something just came up."

"Wasn't that the point?"

"Felicia, I need to get some stuff done."

"So who is this new damsel in distress?"

"Not sure."

"Luke. . ."

"Ahh, you mean the woman who came in."

"Under heavy guard.  What is she? Some sort of mafia princess?"

Luke laughed at that, "now that's one I'm sure she hasn't heard before."

"I'm serious, Luke."

"You didn't get a look at her, did you?"

"I was a bit too embarrassed to, but apparently you weren't."

"She's seen it before."

"Oh, really?" Felicia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She was my doctor at one time."

"That still doesn't explain her entourage."

"Let's just say that her husband's pretty well known and leave it at that."

"Why are you being so vague?"

"Because Riz asked me to."

"Her name's Riz?"

"Well it's what I call her anyway."

"So what else did she ask you to do?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it."

"Luke, I want to help."

"There's nothing to help with," Luke shrugged.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," Felicia commented as she phone rang and Luke reached across her to answer it.

"Oh, hey Laura. . . No, I was just finishing up.  Yeah. . . I know I said I'd be home earlier, but I had a visitor. . . Would you believe Rizzo?" Luke started as he tapped a nearby pencil.  "She already gave it to me for it, but we came to an understanding about it. . .I'd explain if I knew. . . just that someone messed with someone she cares about. . . tell me about it.  . . Yeah, I'll be home soon," he added before hanging up and looking to Felicia who was now standing and rebuttoning her blouse. "Sorry, but. . ."

"I got it.  By the way, I'm really getting tire of being good enough to bed but nothing else," she started, then put up a hand as Luke went to speak.  "Look, it's not like I'm asking you to leave Laura.  I'm a big enough girl to know that that won't be happening, but I thought we were a team.  Guess I was wrong," she added before she turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Luke staring after her. . .

Credits: (1) In The Shadow of Two Gunman: Part 2; (2) 17 People  are by Sorkin and Co.